All the believers kept meeting together, and they shared everything with each other. From time to time they sold their property and other possessions and distributed the money to anyone who needed it. (Acts 2:44).
This verse teaches us that the first disciples shared all their possessions and financial resources. That sounds pretty radical to me. However, there is an underlying principle here, and I think it is important. The principle is that these believers understood that their time, abilities and possessions were given to them by God, and were to be used as resources for fulfilling God’s purposes on earth. I want to spend some time this week on this particular principle. The term often used to describe it is “Christian Stewardship.”
This week, the verse we are looking at is focused primarily on the financial aspects of that stewardship. I have noticed that a lot of people are very touchy about money. Most folks don't like to talk about it. One time, when I was teaching about money, I made it quite clear that we were on the topic because it is something the Bible talks about, and the way we manage what God has given us financially is an important aspect of our spiritual life. The last time I had even mentioned money in a sermon was six months before that time. Even so, someone came up afterwards and had some strong words for me, and basically called me greedy, among other things, and accused me of nagging people about giving. So before we go on, let me make a few things clear. Please read carefully. First, as a teacher/preacher, I talk about money far less often than Jesus did. Second, as I write this, I have recently received a raise in my salary. I am grateful for that, and I am completely content with what I am making. I approach this subject because the scripture we are studying talks about it – and not because I personally want more money. Third, I have no idea how much any person in our church gives. I never have, and I don't want to know, in case I start treating people differently. Finally, if you have a strong negative reaction hearing a sermon about money, could it be possible that this is because it is an issue between you and God, and could it also be, that He wants to address this issue in your life? One more note: I am aware that we are one week ahead of ourselves with this verse. We're doing it this week because we have a member of our church who also wants to share with you on this subject, and today was originally the only day he could.
Jesus taught extensively about the idea of stewardship. Matthew 21:33-46 recounts the parable of the tenants. Matthew 25:14-30 offers the parable of the talents. Luke 16:1-15 records the parable of the shrewd manager. I encourage you to read at least two of the three this week, so you can get a flavor for Jesus’ attitude about this. The central point in each of these stories (and it is quite forcefully made in each) is that we are stewards of what God has given us in life. It is His, not ours, and we are to take care of it, and use it to accomplish His goals. God’s primary goal of course, is to bring more and more people into a genuine, righteous, loving relationship with Himself. If he’s going to do that, he’ll need to use the speaking gift he gave Peter; the energy he entrusted to Paul; the thoughtfulness that John was to invest; the time that Philip devoted; the willingness that Stephen had; and yes, the money of Barnabas. All that comes from just a few chapters in the book of Acts. He has given you and me many other gifts – time, talents, money, relationships and opportunities. He needs them to achieve his purpose. We were put here to use them for Him.
What does it mean to be a steward? A steward is someone who manages resources that belong to someone else. Usually the owner of the resources wants the steward to accomplish certain goals with those resources. For example, if you use an investment broker, that broker is a steward of your investments. He does not own your money – you do. But your broker manages your money for you, with the purpose of helping you to achieve your financial goals. When all is said and done, your broker is accountable to you for how he invested the money you gave him to use. He needs to give an accounting of what he has done with it. While he is investing for you, he needs to keep in mind your goals for the money. Of course, he is entitled to his fees from what you have given him – after all, he has to have something to live on. However, the money, and the goals are yours. And the broker fees are usually only between 1 and 5 percent.
We are something like investment brokers for God. We are stewards. Everything we own, every ability or gift we have, every opportunity that comes our way and yes, all of our money – really belongs to God, not us. They are given to us simply so that we can manage them according to His goals and purposes. Of course some of it we have to use to support ourselves during our time here as stewards for God. But we should never lose sight of the fact that we are stewards, and all of these resources have been given to us so that we can invest them in reaching God’s goals.
Can you imagine an investment broker who said, “Come and invest with me. I'll use your money for myself, but whenever I can afford it, I'll invest some.” Suppose you actually invested with such a person, and over time, you found out she was investing about 3% of your money, and keeping 97% for her own fees. You would probably look for a different brokerage, one that was closer to the industry standard which is exactly the opposite of that. But suppose you were very generous, and you said to your broker, “Look, let's be reasonable. I am trying to accomplish certain goals with this money. What do you say, you keep 90% of my money for yourself, but be sure to invest at least 10%?” That is ridiculously generous. But suppose the Broker said, “10 percent? I can't afford to live on only 90% of your money! Maybe if you give me more, you can have 10%, but not unless I get more.” No human being I've ever met would invest with a broker like that. But God does it every day. The average American Christian gives 3% of his or her income to church each year. This is very different from what those first Christians did in Acts 2:44.
Now, at this point, I need to make something absolutely clear. Doing things for God, including giving money, does not earn you “brownie points” with him. Being a good steward will not make Him love you any more, and being a bad steward will not make him love you less. We are saved and have a relationship with God simply and only because Jesus sacrificed himself in our place, and we trust him to forgive our sins. Our relationship with God is not based on what we do (or don’t do) for Him – it is based on His love for us, and our willingness to believe in and receive that love.
The reasons to use our resources – including money – for God, are because we love him, because he deserves it, and finally, because there is tremendous joy, peace and blessing for us when we do.
I'd like to share some practical ways that being a steward of God's money works for me. I'm not saying I'm perfect, and it doesn't have to look exactly the same for you – I'm just telling you how we handle it.
First, we give 10% of our regular income back to the Lord. It's our way, and it is a biblical way, of making sure we understand that ALL of it belongs to him. We did this when we were first married and made only eight-thousand dollars in one year. I am confident that we'd do at least this if we made a million dollars a year. Tithing – giving 10% – isn't a law. However, in the Bible there are really two main examples of how believers honored God with their money on a consistent basis. The first is to give 100% of it away (as in this Bible Passage). The second is to give a tithe – which means ten percent. And there are a lot of promises in the Bible connected with tithing. In fact, if you are looking for economic security in these uncertain times, strange as it may seem, tithing is a pretty good place to start. There are a lot of examples of it. It is the only suggestion about regular giving that came from God himself, through Moses and the prophets. And, God promises to bless those who do it. So don't consider it a law. But I think everyone should consider it to be an excellent and practical idea. Remember the analogy of the stockbroker. Is ten percent really too much to invest for the owner of all that you use? If it is, what other benchmark will you use?
Now, if Kari and I just tithed and did nothing else, I would not consider us good stewards. Instead, we try to manage ALL of our money in ways that honor him. We recently got a tax return. Shortly after we got it, we prayed, “Lord, this is your money. How do you want to use it?” Now, I have preached elsewhere about hearing from God. In the meantime, rest assured, that if you really want to hear from him about how he wants to use the money he's given you, you will. You might even be hearing from him right now. On the other hand, if you view your money as your money, and you aren't open to what God might want to do with it, then I expect you will never hear what he is telling you, even if an airplane does sky-writing directly over your house saying, “give some of it away.” By the way, that's what Kari and I heard. So we gave away ten percent of our tax refund.
We recently purchased a couch. It wasn't super extravagant, as far as couches go, but it was a pretty big purchase for us. Before we did it, we prayed, “Lord, all that we have is yours. Our money really belongs to you. Is it OK to use this much for this couch?” I think we heard “yes.”
One more example. Recently, we were forced to buy a different (used) lawnmower. It was a pretty good price, and we felt like God wanted us to do it, but I tried to bargain with the folks who were selling it. They wouldn't budge. For some reason, I felt mad that they wouldn't negotiate, and I wasn't sure we should do it. I took a moment to step away and pray. I don't hear audible voices, but it seemed to me that the Lord brought some things to my mind. It was almost as if we had the following conversation:
God: Whose money is it?
Me (sulky): Yours.
God: “So if they are ripping you off, or if it's a bad price, who is losing on the deal?”
Me: Oh. I see. You are.
I found this to be a relief when handling money. It's not my money, it's his. As long as I am truly open to him, and as long as I am asking him about it and doing my best to hear, he is responsible for it. The decisions are his, not mine. We budget our money, and keep track of where it is going. But I have also found it a tremendous relief to simply ask before almost every major purchase (in our case that is, more than $50) “Lord, is this how you want to use your money?” It takes a burden off me to know that it is his. He is very generous with me. We are well fed (too much so, in my case) and well housed, and most of our articles of clothing don't have holes in them. We get to do fun things from time to time. God isn't a killjoy. But it is his money, after all, and he should be the one who determines how it is used.
Recently we came close to buying a flat panel TV to replace our 19 inch tube model. We both prayed, “Lord, is this how you want to you use your money?” We both felt that he said, “no.” In fact what occurred to us was that if we were going to spend that much on a TV, we should first spend an equal amount on helping the poorest of the poor in the world – people like orphans in foreign countries. So we won't be getting a TV, until we've also spent that same amount on them.
I'm not condemning anyone who buys a TV without first supporting orphans. I'm just telling you how it looks for us as we try to live with the awareness that all we have and all we earn, actually belongs to God.
Finally, as with everything else in the Christian life, good stewardship is “God-thing.” What I mean is, you can’t be a good steward by yourself, any more than you could get salvation for yourself. The first step in being a steward of God’s resources is to tell your client (God) that you can’t do it without his help. Let Him give you the inner strength to reject selfishness and live for His purposes. Let Him give you wisdom in how to use what He has given you. As always, the main thing is simply to be willing and then He can (and will) do the rest – everything from showing you what to do, to even to giving you the motivation to do it.
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